Senior London-based FX traders leave Rabobank - bank official

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

(Adds background)

By Jamie McGeever

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Two senior London-based currency traders at Dutch lender Rabobank have left the bank after an internal investigation into the bank’s currency-trading practices, a Rabobank official familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Theirs are the latest in a flurry of departures of senior forex traders from banks in London this month as the year-long global inquiry into allegations of collusion and manipulation in the world’s largest market draws closer to a settlement.

The two men are Gary Andrews and Chris Twort, who had both been suspended earlier this month. The Rabobank official said an agreement had been reached under which the two traders had left the bank.

No further details of why the men left were available.

Andrews was the bank’s chief dealer, and Twort was a senior trader. Both were listed as “inactive” on the UK financial watchdog’s register of approved individuals as of Oct. 8. Reuters reported their suspensions on Oct. 7.

Neither man could be reached for comment at the bank on Monday, and the Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment.

Andrews’ LinkedIn page said he was chief dealer at Rabobank from September 2004 to October 2014 and is now “looking for new opportunities in FX”, while Twort is still listed as a senior FX dealer at Rabobank.

Neither could be reached immediately via LinkedIn.

This follows a series of high-profile departures from the London currency trading desks at JP Morgan and HSBC this month.

The industry has been rocked by the investigation. More than 30 currency operatives at several leading banks - including one at the Bank of England - have been suspended, placed on leave or fired as a dozen authorities including the U.S. Department of Justice have conducted their investigations.

No bank or individual has yet been formally accused of any wrongdoing.

The investigation originally centred on activity related to the so-called “London fixing”, the one-minute window at 4 pm in London every trading day when benchmark exchange rates are set, but has since broadened out, sources say.

Sources have told Reuters that a settlement between the FCA and major banks based largely on banks admitting lax internal compliance, oversight failures and market conduct breaches by individual employees could be reached by the end of the year. (Reporting by Jamie McGeever in London and Thomas Escritt in Amsterdam; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Hugh Lawson)